What age do you recommend going without strollers in the parks?

[basketlacey]

We have a trip planned in October and my youngest will be 5. She never rides in a stroller anymore at home. I remember from our previous trips thinking that I wouldn't need a stroller for my 4 yo (much older now) and quickly found out that it made the day much more enjoyable to go ahead and rent one.

I am trying to figure out if we should rent one in case she wants to ride. I am also trying to figure out what we will bring in the park with us. Part of that decision is whether or not we will be carrying it around or looping a bag on the stroller.

Any thoughts?

 

[DisneyDad1964]

We have a trip planned in October and my youngest will be 5. She never rides in a stroller anymore at home. I remember from our previous trips thinking that I wouldn't need a stroller for my 4 yo (much older now) and quickly found out that it made the day much more enjoyable to go ahead and rent one.

I am trying to figure out if we should rent one in case she wants to ride. I am also trying to figure out what we will bring in the park with us. Part of that decision is whether or not we will be carrying it around or looping a bag on the stroller.

Any thoughts?

We first went when our youngest was 6, so we were too old for a stroller for sure. However, it depends on how your daughter will handle a lot of walking. Is she usually pretty good about it? One consideration with strollers is that they make it difficult to maneuver through the crowds, etc.

We take a big backpack w/us with extra snacks, and lots of water. You can bring in any foods pretty much so we'll sometimes bring lunch in w/us. The more you can carry with you, the less you'll need to buy.

Here are some other Disney trip planning tips that will help you out.

Have a great trip!

 

[Hootch]

was five for this last trip. She doesn't use a stroller at home, but she doesn't walk four or five miles a day either. Our first day was at DHS. It was quickly clear to us that, even in this small park, a stroller was going to make our lives easier. There were a few nights when we were leaving the parks at 11:00 PM or so (with a midday break at the resort) when I was certain that my daughter would have a melt down without a stroller.

 

[alleghator]

We went to WDW in 2006, when my (small) daughter was turning 7 and my (large) son was 4-1/2. There were both roughly the size of an average 5-1/2 to 6 year old.

Neither had strollered at home for a loooong time. But, we loved having a double stroller at the parks. Our "system?" No stroller until after lunch or our back-at-the-timeshare midday break. The kids walked all morning and were troopers and we moved quickly. In the afternoon, we slowed down, the kids rode.

There was one day toward the end of the week that Matthew griped about walking one morning and I reminded him that we'd get a stroller in the afternoon, and as the pattern had already been established ... he nodded and smiled and said, "OK, mom."

The stroller was a good break for the kids, allowing us to stretch them longer into the evening without any real fatigue or crankiness.

 

[MariDisney]

DD rode until she was 8.

 

[basketlacey]

Thanks for the replies! I think it might make our lives easier as we have some long days planned. Maybe we can skip the stroller rental on our short days.

Plus, it will make it a lot easier to take in a few drinks and snacks if we use a stroller.

 

[georgiasmom]

My daughter was 6 the last time we went. We live in the cit and she DOES walk about 3 miles a day at home after school with her babysitter. We still had our old stroller in the basement so I brought it. We parked it in the park in the am and went back for it after lunch. The best part was she could fall asleep in it at night. I would not rent a stroller for that reason. I'd hate to have to return it at the park entrance. We are going in Jan and she will be 7. That stroller has long since died but I am consdiering buying a cheap one b/c I think we will still need it on this trip.

A

 

[GEM]

My son turned 6 in May and we're going on our first strollerless trip in late September!

We are frequent visitors and we've been using the stroller less and less on the last few trips. Our last trip, in January, we only used it a few times. So, I think we'll be fine without it this next time. We aren't "out all day" kind of people, so I think that makes a difference. We generally head back to the resort after lunch for some pool time and relaxing at the resort and then head back out in the evening. We're rarely in the parks more than four or five hours at at time at the most. I think a lot of it depends on your kid, his or her personality and physical development, your touring style, what they are used to at home, etc.

 

[triciadanna]

When we went last year my daughter was 5 we actually purchased a maclaren volo umbrella stroller and it was perfect especially since we were staying at the Port Orleans Riverside and having it just for the walk back to the room made it worth having!
We will be returning this October and we will be bringing it again.

 

[ChristinaN]

We left the stroller at home when they were about 5.

 

[Tink 0720]

DS8 wanted a stroller at disneyland in december. No problem. makes going through crowds easier and I have space for all my disney shopping bags!

 

[MOREMICKEYFORME]

I am leaving later this afternoon for Disney

My son is 6 and I had no intention on bringing a stroller for him to use, but we went to Boston two weeks ago and he was exhausted walking around there. I got home and was able to join a stroller swap on the Dis. So now I don't need to pay for one, nor lug one thru the airport. I LOVE THE DIS AND FREE STROLLER SWAPS!!!

PS- Son is an active walker and participates in sports including Karate multiple times per week.

 

[basketlacey]

I don't know anything about the free stroller swap - off to do some research!

 

[reelmom]

Our last trip, our boys were 6 and 5. We didn't rent a stroller everyday but only when it became too much. It is a lot of money to rent, I believe 32.00 for a double, but so worth it.

 

[diswiththree]

I've been debating about the stroller situation for my DS5. He hasn't used one for YEARS! He is very active but we all know how WDW can be. I've been thinking about renting a single, or even a double, for the convenience in case he can't hack it. As well as the convenience for attaching a small cooler, toting bags, etc... Except for the cost : ( ANd how does the stroller swap work? Or should I buy one and bring it with? If so, any ideas on good ones for an almost 6 year old....size, etc...? What do all of you recommend?

 

[jennc27]

We are getting ready to leave in 21 days....wait it is after midnight so now it is 20 days. My DH and I did not want to take our stroller with us. We never use it anymore and it has made the move from back of the car to the garage. It is okay for for short periods of time, but after a while it hurts our backs because we have to bend over to push it.

Since we did not want to take the stroller we started to walk with our DS'S (8 & 3). We would walk about 1 to 2 miles every day. Our DS8 could walk just find, but our DS3 could not. After about a mile our DS3 would just stop. Then my DH would pick him up and carry him on his shoulder. So there went the ideal of not taking the stroller. We thought about buying a jogging stoller, but who wants to spend that kind of money for one trip?

My Dad rented a scooter through Walker Mobility and when we where doing the research we saw that they aslo rented strollers. We were able to rent a jogging stroller through them for for 8 days and it will cost us about $70. For us that is half the price of buying a new one. They also deliver the stroller (and scooter) to you at the hotel. The website did not have a lot of information about the stroller so I called them and they were very nice and answered all of my questions.

My DH and I are happy that we do not have to take a stroller through the airport. They can be such a hassle getting them through the x-ray machines. The last time we flew and took our stroller I was folding it up to put it into the x-ray machine and my DS3 (who was 18 months at the time) took off and was running around the area. I droped everything and chased him, and then the guard was chasing me! He was NOT happy with us.

Have not done research on a stroller swap, so can not comment there.

Sorry this is so long, but if it helps...

 

[eastcarolinafan]

I've been debating about the stroller situation for my DS5. He hasn't used one for YEARS! He is very active but we all know how WDW can be. I've been thinking about renting a single, or even a double, for the convenience in case he can't hack it. As well as the convenience for attaching a small cooler, toting bags, etc... Except for the cost : ( ANd how does the stroller swap work? Or should I buy one and bring it with? If so, any ideas on good ones for an almost 6 year old....size, etc...? What do all of you recommend?

Last year we went for five days. You know the drill, walk walk walk, carry this. walk walk walk hold this.

DD was 7 then. heading into Epcot for the evening when this young couple with a boy about 5 was leaving. they had a stroller, saw my daughter and offered the use of the stroller for the remainder of the night. sophie was seven of course, so we didnt need it. i took it and figured i would turn it in for the couple who looked really beat. no biggie, just paying it forward, you know?

so DW says hey, hold on to it for EMH later. sophie might be tired.So we lugged that darn thing around for the remainder of the night. Dinner, fireworks, all over. Then around midnight, DD says she's had it. can't go on another step.

Voila!!! Stroller. She's a smart girl, my wife. we were able to hang out and enjoy a couple more things because of that nice couple. Thanks, guys!

Bottom line is: Strollers are great. We'll be getting another one this trip with my EIGHT year old daughter. She'll roll her eyes at first, but come midnight after a 12 hour day of touring, she will love us. And I will love that stroller.


Get one.

 

[rhpools]

DS8 wanted a stroller at disneyland in december. No problem. makes going through crowds easier and I have space for all my disney shopping bags!

I agree!!!!

 

[Hootch]

I've been debating about the stroller situation for my DS5. He hasn't used one for YEARS! He is very active but we all know how WDW can be. I've been thinking about renting a single, or even a double, for the convenience in case he can't hack it. As well as the convenience for attaching a small cooler, toting bags, etc... Except for the cost : ( ANd how does the stroller swap work? Or should I buy one and bring it with? If so, any ideas on good ones for an almost 6 year old....size, etc...? What do all of you recommend?

at how easily the rental stroller moved with our daughter. She hadn't used a stroller in a couple of years and her last one was an umbrella stroller because she used it so little.

I looked at one of the offsite stroller places. Their fee was grouped into multi-day increments and our park days were equal to the minimum days. It also equaled the prepaid amount for all days so I decided to try the park ones.

They were certainly convenient and, as mentioned above, very easy to push. We started out with just two days to see how we liked it. The pre-pay was a little cheaper but a lot more convenient during pick-up and we picked up a stroller twice a day. I was happy not to be carrying a stroller on the bus back to the resorts a couple of nights when it was so crowded. (I will say that at some resorts, if you have a distance to walk once you're back, having a stroller with you is nice.)

There are a couple of potential draw back for the doubles; 1) They are harder to use in crowds, 2) a poncho fit nicely over the single and it did rain hard a couple of times on our trip and 3) It costs about twice as much.